


FE: Awakening One Shots

by Everlasting_Juno



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Gen, One Shot, One Shot Collection, ow my hubris is acting up again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29508303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everlasting_Juno/pseuds/Everlasting_Juno
Summary: The beginnings of a Fire Emblem: Awakening one shot collection. I'll definitely have some be interconnected with others, but they certainly won't be uploaded in chronological order. I'll be sure to put a general time frame in terms of in-game chapters for each, though. Also, I might change some characters a little bit here and there, to make them suited for certain things and so I don't have to write personality traits I wouldn't enjoy writing. If this offends you, I really do apologize. I don't have a release schedule for this, honestly, but I don't plan on there being week-long gaps between releases. At least, hopefully not too often. I hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Chrom/Sumia (Fire Emblem), My Unit | Reflet | Robin/Tiamo | Cordelia
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place shortly after defeating Mustafa in chapter 10.

“Dammit!”

I punched a tree, and winced. I was too angry to think about the wounds that I was giving myself. I looked at my hand, and realized that I had probably broken a few fingers at this point, judging by how bloody and bruised my hand had become. Funny, considering the tree remained relatively the same. 

Oh, well. These wounds would heal.

The wounds Chrom, Lissa, and the entirety of Ylisse had suffered earlier today would not.

I looked up at the night sky, feeling the drops of rain fall onto my face. Part of me found it curious how it always seemed to rain whenever you suffer loss. Another part of me just felt irritated. 

I took my Thunder tome, and angrily pointed my hand at the tree. 

“Thunder!”

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, frying the tree, soon followed by the crackling of fire. Thankfully, the tree wasn’t part of a forest, and was just a random tree on a hill. Weird as it was, I was grateful for a way to vent my anger. 

I needed it. 

I had let everyone down. Everyone had looked to me for the perfect plan to save Emmeryn, and I had failed them. I had failed Lissa, Frederick, Ferox, all of Ylisse… and most of all, Chrom.

I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to kill me. I was guilty of Emmeryn’s death. All the fault lay with me, and how much of an idiot I was to not come up with a way to save her. 

Then again, wasn’t everyone else at least half as foolish? Why would they ask ME, some random amnesiac Chrom found in a field somewhere, to come up with a plan to save Emmeryn?! How could they not have guessed that I’d fail? 

…

No, that wasn’t fair. 

I collapsed onto the ground, feeling drained. I had run out of anger, and just felt self-loathing at this point.

I hadn’t even been able to come up with a good plan after her death. Instead, I had led us all to an ambush, where the only way we had broken free was Chrom’s rage. He had killed almost the entire battalion Gangrel had trapped us with, and I frankly felt a little disgusted seeing how brutally he had murdered the Plegian general.

I hoped he wouldn’t be too brutal when he killed me. 

I closed my eyes. Maybe I should just rot here. I’m more of a liability than anything, after all. I had been saved by all the other members of the Shepherds countless times, and what did I have to show for it?

Nothing but guilt and failure. 

I heard footsteps, and groaned. Had Chrom come to make me atone? If so, I was ready. Please, force me to face my guilt. 

“Robin? What are you doing?”

That wasn’t Chrom. 

I opened my eyes, and looked back to see the pegasus rider we had recently recruited. Cordelia. I cursed under my breath. Why was she here?

I groaned, and returned to laying face-down in the wet grass. 

“I saw the lighting strike, and wanted to make sure you were okay up here.”

Just don’t respond, and she’ll eventually leave. 

“Are you okay? Did you suffer any wounds in today’s battles? I have a few vulneraries on me.”

My hand throbbed, and I almost whimpered. Who knew playing dead, or the equivalent of it, was so hard?

“Robin, look at me. I need to know how you’re doing, for my own sake.”

“No.”

Why did I respond?

“What in Naga’s name are you doing? I know you can hear me. You just responded.”

Well, might as well try and drive her away using a different approach.

“I’m not telling you, okay?! Can’t you tell I don’t want to talk right now?!”

I couldn’t see her, but I could tell she was taken aback by my outburst. Good. Maybe with a little more, I could get her to leave me to wallow in my depression.

“You can not want to talk while still needing to talk to someone… I think. I’m here if you need me.”

I pushed myself to a sitting position, and almost collapsed again. This stupid hand… I felt my anger welling up again. Anger at Gangrel, Plegia, the world, and myself. 

“Please, Cordelia, leave me alone. I have nothing to say to you.”

She knelt down in front of me, and I was able to get a good look at her face for the first time. She had obviously been crying, even though she was trying to hide it; her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks red. 

Why was she bothering with me, if she had her own feelings to deal with? I couldn’t fathom why she’d waste her time on a failure like me as-is, so why was she putting me before herself?

She’d lost so much in so little time. Her entire fleet, her commander, and Emmeryn. How she wasn’t reduced to a mess like I was, was beyond me. 

“Robin, I can tell you’re torn up about… the Exalt.”

“Wow, what gave it away? The burning tree, my yelling, or my hand?”

“Your… hand? Oh, gods, Robin! What happened?!”

Should’ve kept my mouth shut.

I winced, feeling Cordelia slowly raise my injured hand. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do, due to the absence of any sort of light out here…

“Light!”

A small ball of light appeared in the air. Of course she was proficient in magic. Why would I ever have thought otherwise?

“Robin, how long have you been hiding this? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I haven’t had the chance. I got it by punching the tree.”

“Why would you punch a tree?!”

“Because I’m furious, Cordelia!” I tore my hand away from her, grimacing at the pain. “I’m angry! I feel like I took every step I possibly could to assure our failure today! Everything went wrong! Emmeryn’s dead, and I’m the one to blame. You all trusted me to come up with a plan, and what do we have to show for it?! A dead exalt, the massacre of Ylisse’s pegasus riders, and I almost got us all killed!”

“That’s not true-”

“Shut up! We both know it’s true. All the Shepherds do. I failed, plain and simple. I let everyone down, and now we don’t have anything going for us. It’d be a miracle if we somehow make it to the next week alive.”

“Robin, I…”

“No. I refuse to hear you try and console me. Leave.” I turned my back, and walked back to the tree.

I didn’t hear footsteps. How much farther did I need to go to make her leave me alone?

I had already done everything I could to push everyone away! Whether it was on purpose or not, didn’t matter. I had made far too many mistakes. There was nothing I could do anymore. I was an unskilled lowlife whose only talent was letting people down. Why couldn’t she understand?!

I didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already did.

I didn’t want to hurt anyone else with my inability.

I closed my eyes, realizing some of the water dripping down my face wasn’t the rain. I was so frustrated with myself. I could think of countless ways to counter Gangrel’s plans. Why had I thought he wouldn’t be prepared for us? The whole goal of what he was doing with Emmeryn was to attain the Fire Emblem, and here I come waltzing straight into his trap!

“...?!”

I startled, as I felt arms wrap around me.

“Robin, you of all people should know that you couldn’t have done anything. You told me that, back when I first met you all. You did everything perfect, and still lost. That happens. That’s not you being unable to plan, or being unable to strategize: that’s life. We all endure losses we can’t help.”

“Yes, but this isn’t one of those cases.”

“It is. It’s no use to be filled with regrets all the time.” I felt her arms tighten, and I winced. I hoped she wasn’t squeezing me this hard with the goal of hurting me. “I know I’m being hypocritical here. I know all too well the hurt you’re going through. The pain, the regret. I know you’re thinking, ‘I could have done this, or this, or this differently, and it’d all work out.’ That’s just who you are. But please, don’t think we’re not here for you. We all grieve. That’s life. Just, please, don’t feel like you have to push anyone away.”

I started crying more than I had been before. How was she able to tell all this? Was I just that transparent?

“Please, Robin. Don’t push me away. I’m here for you.”

I started bawling. As embarrassing as it was, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. All the rage and frustration I had turned into sorrow. I’m not sure how long I was crying. It could have been anywhere from minutes to hours. 

~

“How you managed to injure your hand like that is beyond me, but it should be fine now. Just treat it with care and don’t break it again, please.”

Maribelle finished wrapping the bandage, and paused.

“Robin… thank you. You tried your best earlier today. It could have gone much worse had you not been there.”

I kept my gaze downwards, full of shame. Thank the gods Cordelia had managed to snap me out of my funk. I couldn’t believe I had doubted the Shepherds’ faith in me.

While I still believed I had made mistakes in my planning, I didn’t think those mistakes directly led to all the events of yesterday. Gangrel probably had an infinite amount of ways to assure Emmeryn’s demise, and there was no way to account for every single one of them. 

As harsh as it was, I needed to take this experience, and grow from it. 

“-obin? Can you hear me?”

I looked up to see Maribelle’s face hovering inches from mine, and almost jumped out of my skin.

“Oh! Sorry, I was just… thinking, is all.”

Maribelle sighed. “I’ve only known you for a week or two now, and I can already tell that you have a problem with overthinking things. Don’t be afraid to come to us with your problems. We’re all friends here, as uncivilized as some of us may be. And… we’re all going through the same loss.”

“Thank you, Maribelle. I really do appreciate it.”

Maribelle exited the medical tent, and I heard her curse the gods for the rain. I chuckled. Even after all that happened today, the Shepherds were still the Shepherds. 

I sat there for who knows how long, thinking about all that had happened, and devising strategies to counteract it in case it ever happened again. If Chrom, Lissa, or any one of the Shepherds was kidnapped like this again, I needed a better plan to save them. I needed to account for every possible ambush, every possible betrayal, every possible outcome. There was no room for error, here. While I didn’t completely blame myself anymore, I knew I had taken things a tad too lightly, for reasons I was unsure of. 

I had to think about this objectively, too, though. Sacrificing Emmeryn for the Fire Emblem was, as painful as it is to think about, the right decision. There was a reason Gangrel was after it; it wasn’t just a shiny shield. I couldn’t think of why he would want it, but that didn’t change the fact that it was valuable. 

However… the line had to be drawn somewhere. I wouldn’t needlessly sacrifice anyone for the Fire Emblem if I could avoid it. We could always deal with the aftermath, whatever it may be. 

Emmeryn should never have been in the position she was in. That much was for certain. Where exactly did I screw up, then? I didn’t predict the betrayal of the Hierarch on breakneck pass, and that was one of the things leading directly to Emmeryn’s capture. So, think about what to do to counteract betrayals, and think about the possible traitors among our ranks. 

I had to consider everything. There was a very real possibility that Gangrel had moles in our ranks; as much as I didn’t want to doubt anyone, I had to consider the possibility. Who would the most likely one be? I could already tell that Tharja had an odd obsession with me, and we had just met earlier today in the middle of battle. I hadn’t even had an actual conversation with her yet. Perhaps she was a failsafe placed by Gangrel in case we did get away? No, she probably would have acted already if she was. With all the trouble Gangrel had gone through to try and prevent us from escaping, and Tharja’s personality… I doubted she was a mole for that purpose. 

Another angle, then. Maybe she was placed here to spy on me, specifically? If so, she wasn’t hiding it very well. Then again, Gangrel didn’t seem like he was… mentally sound. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be the case.

I’d have to assign someone to spy on her, see if she was hiding anything. Maybe Gaius? He seemed relatively cooperative, as long as I gave him candy. That, and I technically did have the option to blackmail him; but, I didn’t want to do that unless I absolutely had to. 

Maybe not, though… Gaius could also very well be another spy. 

I shook my head. This was dangerous thinking. Think about this too long, and it’d be hard to trust anybody. 

For now, I’d simply ask Gaius to shadow Tharja. See if he can dig up any dirt on her. After that, it was time to reevaluate the strength of the Shepherds. See who needed to be on the front lin-

“Robin, I was told you were in here. May I come in?”

I startled, then cursed. Why was I so easy to surprise? That wouldn’t do at all. At this rate, I’d be assassinated before the day was over.

“Robin?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. You can come in.”

“Thank you.”

I glanced up to see Frederick walk in, to my surprise. He and I had never really talked too much, not because we intentionally avoided each other, but because we never ran into each other. Both of us had important roles in the army to fulfill, ones that left little time to ourselves.

“Robin, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. I noticed your… outburst earlier, but wasn’t sure what to do for you.”

“I really appreciate your concern, Frederick, but I’m alright now. I just needed to vent my frustrations a bit, and that tree was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Frustrations with yourself, I presume?”

“Yes. I thought that I was to blame for the Exalt’s death, that I screwed up somewhere that got her killed.”

“There was nothing you could have done.”

“I realize that now. But, I need to be better. I need to be able to predict everything, and have a countermeasure for it. No more surprises.”

Frederick nodded. “Our duties never do seem to end, do they? Can never be too careful.”

“Never. I need to be ready for anything.”

“Robin, will you marry me?”

I stared at him, eyes wide with shock.

“I’m… sorry, could you repeat that?”

“You weren’t ready for anything. I could have taken that chance to slit your throat.”

“First of all, I trust you with my life. Second of all, why… THAT question?”

“Because I felt it would be the most surprising to you.”

“Well, you were right. I’d, er, appreciate it if you didn’t do that again.”

“I cannot make any promises that I will not attempt to surprise you in the future. Now, I must go ensure that the camp will be safe for the night. Take care.”

Frederick exited the tent, leaving me bewildered. What in Naga’s name was that man thinking? Was everything just a training drill to him?

Who decided to use a marriage proposal as a surprise attack?!

I stood up, feeling my legs almost give out from not being used for so long. Curse my nerves and their falling asleep. 

I exited the medical tent, making sure it was properly lit in case someone had an emergency overnight, and began making my way to my tent. As I walked, the rain continued to reduce me to even more of a drenched mess than I already was. By the time I finally got to my tent, I was pretty sure there was enough water for a small village in my hair alone.

I opened my tent flap and walked in, debating on what to do from here. We were already planning to retreat, but what to do after that? I couldn’t see a clean way out of our current situation. I was betting that Plegia had only become more radicalized by Emmeryn’s death, and were more than willing to do whatever it took to win this war. 

I sat on my bed, multiple possibilities running through my mind. Maybe we could seek out that “Marth” character, and try and persuade them to join us. Though… that wouldn’t give us the edge we needed, frankly. It would certainly help, but the chances of them joining us were too slim to risk wasting time on them. Then, perhaps we divert course from our current destination and instead immediately strike back? No, that was far too cruel on the Shepherds, and especially Chrom and Lissa. They needed time to heal more than anything, right now.

So, what? What was the magic fix option? What about asking Cordelia to fly as high as she possibly could with my accompanying her, then surprising Gangrel with a Thunder tome from far above his palace?

I laughed. That option was far too silly. Yawning, I decided to go to bed for the night. I could always come up with a plan tomorrow.

I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.

~

I opened my eyes to see nothing. Black crawled across my vision, swarming my mind. I blinked, wondering if I had gone blind, before looking down and seeing my body. Judging by how I could see my torso, arms, and legs, I luckily hadn’t gone blind yet. 

I looked around. Where even was I? I saw nothing but black. This wasn’t a place I recognized.

Or, wait…

This might’ve been someplace from my lost memories. Maybe this was my mind’s attempts at recovering the things I had forgotten. 

Would exploration be the right option here?

…

I didn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t. I checked to make sure I had at least one tome on me for self-defense, then went on my way.

The void seemed endless, and unchanging. There was no obvious difference from my initial spot to the spot I was in an hour later. What was this place? What was the point of it? I hadn’t encountered anything here. 

Was this simply a dream from my fatigued mind, with no greater purpose?

I ruminated on it for a while. I couldn’t see anything that this void had to offer. A quiet place to think, perhaps, but something about it was intensely oppressive. I always felt like someone was watching me, though I was sure that feeling was unfounded. This… was a dream, after all… I was pretty sure, at least. 

I decided to stop walking and sat down. What did I know? Well, for one, this place seemed to not have anything in it. There weren’t any changes to it, no matter how far I searched, and I was the only thing here. It seemed to just be a void. 

I thought about all I knew of dreams. Lissa had told me that dreams were the mind’s way of wasting time during sleep, though if someone was thinking about a specific thing a lot there was a strong possibility it’d show up in their dreams. With the exception of a few people with the ability to foresee the future, dreams had no greater meaning. With that in mind, was this really the best way my mind decided I could spend my time while I was sleeping?

It did give me a chance to think alone, though, with nobody around to interrupt my train of thought. Here, I could plan and strategize to my heart’s content.

Continue the train of thought from earlier, then.

While I had dismissed it before, I could always keep the “Assassinate Gangrel via Pegasus Flying” plan as a last resort. Let’s flesh it out. 

I didn’t understand pegasi biology all that well, but I was sure there was a reason that pegasus riders didn’t go above the clouds. Was it poor visibility, or a strain on the pegasus? I could definitely see it being the latter. I’m sure it wasn’t easy carrying a rider and dealing with the innate oxygen loss at higher altitudes. If that was the problem, how would I get around it while accounting for two people on a single pegasi’s back?

Hmm… it was unorthodox, but maybe I could use a wind tome to form a sort of “bubble” around the pegasi’s head, giving it ample oxygen for the duration of the plan. I wondered how much stamina the strongest pegasus in the Shepherds had, because the bubble had to be filled with enough oxygen for at least a few hours, if I enacted the plan as soon as possible. 

I doubted Gangrel would predict this absurd of a plan, so I could count on there being minimal defenses around Plegia’s castle. To be honest with myself, that was the only way this plan would work. If I were Gangrel, I’d be sending every Plegian military force I could after us, wounded and exhausted as we were. Chances were, we wouldn’t put up much of a fight. 

Therefore, was it safe to assume that Gangrel wouldn’t have a strong guard? I doubted he’d let Aversa leave his side, but I had confidence that I could handle her. I had an innate knowledge of dark magic, for whatever reason, and I knew exactly how to counter her fighting style. She wouldn’t be too much of a problem. 

Now, for the actual assassination… after arriving at Castle Plegia, what next? Well, that was the hard part. I could think of way too many possible locations for Gangrel to be in. First, let’s plan for his being on the balcony outside the throne room. After our arrival, the pegasus would descend at as fast of a speed as possible. It’d be tricky, but I’d have to aim the Thoron spell as accurately and quickly as possible. We only had one shot at this plan. 

Now, as for if he was-

“I must say, it is amusing to watch you stumble around, though I’m disappointed to see you give up so early.”

I whipped my head around, trying to see who spoke, but there was nobody around. 

“So many futile actions. How can one be so blind to truth, yet believe they can do anything?”

“Who’s there?!”

“Come, Robin, at least try and be unique here. Do you truly think anyone would respond to that? I know you’re smarter than that, at least. Though, you haven’t shown any intelligence recently.”

I balled my fist. Whoever this was, was taunting me. They knew I had nothing on them, and they were holding that over me. Think. The voice didn’t seem to have a definitive origin point, and sounded… distorted, somehow. Like a billion voices layered on top of each other. Yet, it sounded oddly… familiar.

I was willing to bet it was a product of my dream.

“I didn’t think you’d properly answer me. I just wanted to hear you speak again, to narrow down the list of options.”

The voice laughed. “Oh, you won’t know who I am for quite some time. Especially if you can’t discern dreams from reality. I even gave you ample opportunity to find me in this space, and you bumbled around like a fool for far too long. I thought better of you.”

“I get it: I’m not meeting your expectations. Now, what do you want from me?”

“What do I want? Robin, I desire one thing above all else: you.”

“I am going to have to ask you to specify what you mean, because that can be interpreted in many ways.”

The voice laughed.

“Oh, at least you can joke! Perhaps I won’t devour you completely, just to hear more of this.”

“Again, I’m going to have to ask what you mean by that.”

"You’re a vessel, Robin: a tool for me to use in my resurrection. Once all the pieces are in place, I will devour your soul, and wreak destruction on the world. I hope you appreciate this forewarning, for it is the only gift I shall give you.”

“What in Naga’s name are you talking abou-”

My eyes shot open, and I fell out of my bed. 

My chest felt tight. I couldn’t get a proper breath. What was that dream? What was that voice? What was that?

I took a couple deep breaths. Think about it rationally. The voice insulted my intelligence, and I had been thinking lowly of myself all day yesterday. The dream was just a result of my mind taking something I thought about frequently, and using it while I was sleeping. Yeah. That’s all it was. 

Nothing more than that. 

Nothing to waste time thinking about.

Nothing to worry about.

I desperately hoped that, feeling my heart pound away faster and faster.


	2. Snowballs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's snowing, and a pair of unexpected guests show up at Robin and Cordelia's cottage to see who can throw a sphere of slush at another person's face the best. Shenanigans ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place after the game ends.

“Snow, and for once, I don’t have to worry about the effects it’ll have on battle.”

Cordelia laughed. “Thank the gods I no longer have to worry about visibility. At least for now. That, and the cold. It was pretty awful being at high altitudes in this weather.”

“I have a Fire tome on me. Want me to use that?”

“No, the fireplace is keeping us warm enough.”

I stared out the window that I was standing next to some more. It hadn’t been too long since my second awakening in the field; only a few months. I had planned on going to the castle today in order to fulfill my role as Chrom’s adviser, especially since the new Plegian leader had reached out in an attempt to atone for what the country has done in the past. We wanted to meet with them as soon as possible, so as to try and determine if they were trustworthy or not. 

We hoped they were.

However… they had sent a message telling us they were going to eliminate the Grimleal before meeting with us. We didn’t know how long that would take, and we had just received the message yesterday. There was no way to tell how long it’d take, and the messenger had told us that the new “Queen” didn’t want any further communication until the Grimleal were dealt with. 

To repeat myself, I really hoped we could trust them on that.

Until we heard back from them, Chrom had forced me to go on vacation. Said that it was “unhealthy” of me to be working right after coming back from the dead.

I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but still.

“Robin, I hope you’re not thinking of heading out there.”

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Even if I was, I know you’d stop me before I’d be able to. You worry about me too much.”

“I don’t think I worry about you enough, quite frankly.”

“I can’t fault you there.”

We sat in silence for a minute, and I thought about the plan from here. We had an entire day to ourselves. What to do with it? There were countless possibilities. 

For one, I could finish reading the history book I was reading about Magvel. Prince Lyon of Grado was very interesting to me; I related to him a lot, as weird as it sounds. I was very curious to see how exactly he came to desire war on the continent of Magvel.

I could also finish studying the history of the Grimleal. Although I used to be content with not knowing my life prior to meeting Chrom, I needed to know just what kind of person I used to be. I had to track down any connections to my prior self. Anyone who might know why I ended up in a field in the middle of nowhere. Was I a consenting participator in the plan to resurrect Grima, or was I being held against my will there? Was I aware of any of it? I had to know.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms grip my shoulders, and turn me around to face Cordelia, who looked worried… which wasn’t out of the norm.

“I can tell you’re troubled by something.”

“It’s… nothing. Just a simple thing, really. I’ll have it solved by tomorrow.”

“No you won’t if that were the case, and you truly believed it, you wouldn’t look so worried. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s nothing. Come on, do you really think I’d be worried about something right now?”

“...”

I sighed. “Yeah, that’s one of my worst attempts to convince you yet. You and I both now I always find something to worry about, no matter how trivial.”

“I’m glad I didn’t have to try and pry it out of you as forcefully as I usually do when you’re like this.”

“I’ve been trying to get better about asking others for help.”

“Well, I’m impressed by that.”

“Thanks.”

“But you’re stalling, in an attempt to figure out a way to direct this conversation somewhere other than what you’re thinking about. I know you, Robin, that’s what you try to do. Please, tell me what’s troubling you. I want you to trust me.”

I couldn’t help but beat myself up a little bit. I truly didn’t understand why I had to keep everything to myself, especially after all that I went through with everyone else. Why did I think simple problems like these would be too much trouble for others when we had to kill a version of myself from the future that had fulfilled their purpose as Grima’s vessel? 

“Cordelia, I… really want to learn more about my past.”

Her brow furrowed. “But why? You’ve always said you didn’t care about it.”

“Truth be told, I don’t believe it was a thing as superficial as the bonds I’ve made with everyone in the Shepherds that brought me back. I’m positive there’s something more concrete out there that would explain my coming back after sacrificing myself. I can’t rest easy without an explanation.”

Cordelia seemed to think for a moment, and I wondered if I hurt her somehow. I really should just be happy I’m alive, but-

“Truthfully, I have always been wondering why you’re back. Not that I’m ungrateful, of course; I’d be devastated if you died before we even had the chance to get married. But… I do agree that I don’t think it’s possible with  _ just _ the power of bonds. No matter what Naga says, I can’t bring myself to believe it.”

“I’m both happy and a little sad that you agree with me, for some reason.”

“Have you dug anything up on it, by chance?”

I shook my head. “Not much. Mostly just researching the Grimleal, but nothing’s come of that yet. Nothing that relates to me, of course.”

“Let me know whatever you find. I need to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“I can’t promise that.”

Cordelia sighed. “Robin, I’m getting a little tired of this complex you have. Not everything needs to be on your shoulders alone: you should know that by now, especially after all the things you told me when I was grieving! Please, share your hardships with me. That’s what I’m here for. I knew that loving you was going to be hard, and that there’d be a lot of things to deal with, but we can deal with them together. Please, Robin, don’t try and think you have to do all this alone. I…” I noticed that she had begun crying, and I felt an intense stab of guilt in my heart. “I don’t want you to disappear again without warning. Please, don’t do that again. I don’t know if I can take it.”

“...”

How could I be so stupid? I’d gone through this same song and dance so many times. I hated that part of myself, the part that thought I had to do everything alone in order so I wouldn’t feel like a burden, the part that thought that sharing my own problems with others meant I was weak. 

I hated it.

“Cordelia… I’m sorry. I really am. You have my word that I won’t do anything without talking to you first. I promise you that much.”

“...Thank you, Robin. That makes me feel a lot better.”

I fished a handkerchief from out of my robes, and handed to her. I felt terrible. How could I be so dense?”

WHAP!

Both Cordelia and I jumped at the sudden noise. It sounded like someone had thrown something at the door. 

WHAP!

“Robin! Get out here!”

My eyes widened. “Why in Naga’s name is Chrom here? How did he even get here?!”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

I walked to the door and opened it, only to be met with a ball of snow hitting me square in the nose.

I stood there for a moment, waiting for the shock and rage to subside before wiping the cold slush off of my face. I opened my eyes to see Chrom and Sumia standing there, with Chrom holding two snowballs. 

“Chrom! What are you doing here?! Are you mad?!”

Chrom cackled. “Come, Robin, it’s only a tiny bit of snow!”

I looked down at my feet, seeing the snow come up to my knees. This was anything but “a tiny bit”.

“Seriously, why are you here? And, again, HOW?!”

“Sumia and I thought it’d be nice to drop in on you two. I know you’ve been researching the Grimleal, Robin, and I wanted to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid again.”

“I know you’re referring to my sacrifice, but it worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“Yes, but we can’t count on it every time. Now, come on. Let’s have a snowball fight!”

“A… what?”

Chrom dropped his snowballs. “A snowball fight? You don’t know what a snowball fight is? We’ve never had one?”

I shook my head. I had no idea what he was talking about. 

“Dear, perhaps Robin lost all his memories of what a snowball fight is when he got his amnesia.”

Chrom nodded, seeming to agree with Sumia. “Yes… that must be it. There isn’t a soul alive who doesn’t know what a snowball fight is.”

They seemed to forget that, prior to my meeting Chrom, I had lived in a desert country.

“Robin, what was Chr-” Cordelia came right behind me, and must have seen Chrom. “Exalt! Milady! What are you two doing here, if I may ask?”

Another laugh from Chrom. “Cordelia, you’re far too polite. We’ve been through thick and thin together. You can just call me Chrom.”

“And we’re still the best of friends, right? Please don’t stop calling me Sumia.”

I looked behind me to see Cordelia turning as red as a tomato. “Y-yes, Exa- I mean, Chrom. And S-Sumia.”

I would never understand her need to be proper with these two. 

“Anyways, Cordelia, you know what a snowball fight is, correct?”

“Yes. Who doesn’t?”

Chrom gestured to me. 

“Robin! How do you not know what a snowball fight is?!”

“You guys are aware I grew up in Plegia, correct? As the son of the leader of the Grimleal? And also had amnesia? Those are three very important details that probably have something to do with this situation.”

Another snowball hit my cheek. 

I slowly turned my head, meeting Chrom’s gaze. 

“I’m guessing all I need to do is throw snowballs at you, correct?”

“That’s pretty much the gist of it, yes.”

“I can always do that much.”

“But, wait; before we start, one more thing. Let’s make this… interesting.”

Oh no.

“We’ll split into two teams: Sumia and I versus Robin and Cordelia. We get an hour each to build a proper fort. If you get hit by a snowball: you’re out. Winner gets bragging rights.”

“An hour to build a fort? Any restrictions?”

“None.”

“You’re on.”

“Are you okay with this, Sumia? Cordelia?”

The two women nodded with no hesitation. I was surprised: Cordelia always seemed so nervous around these two, but she was willing to pelt them with balls of slush? I wondered why.

Cordelia and I went back inside and put proper clothing on, then returned to the front of the cottage and went to the opposite side of the yard that Chrom was on. 

“Cordelia, before we start, can I ask you something?”

“Well, I don’t know if I can grant permission for that until I hear the question.”

“I guess you’re right. Why did you agree to this so quickly?”

“Well, think of it as my… defeating my demons.”

“That’s an interesting way to put it.”

“I’m just… always so nervous around those two, and I’m not even sure why. I’ve known them for what feels like decades, even though it hasn’t been nearly that long, but I get flustered around them just because of their position? I can’t make sense of it. Perhaps doing relaxing activities like this will help me become less flustered around them.”

“I… think that makes sense?”

“I hope it works.”

“Well, with my plan, we’re not going to just ‘play’ this snowball fight like they are: we’re going to assert our dominance over them with such intensity that they’ll never see snow the same way again.”

“You’re taking this very seriously, aren’t you?”

“I’m a tactician, Cordelia: I thrive in battle, and a battle where lives aren’t at stake is paradise for me.”

With that, we got to work. I wasn’t focused on the fort side of things as the plan I had in mind to make sure Chrom suffered trauma whenever he encountered snow. 

We had a friendly relationship, didn’t we?

Chuckling to myself, I made sure the snow was packable enough for the plan to work. I had to create two big balls of the stuff, and I needed to make sure they wouldn’t fall apart in midair. How big, though?

I thought for a moment, and looked over at Chrom and Sumia’s side. They seemed to be making a solid fort, and the walls to the fort were generally thick. They had three sides, leaving only their backs and above them exposed. Perfect. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.

I decided to create a wall of some sort in order to prevent them from seeing what I was coming up with. They had known me long enough that they could probably predict something unorthodox from me, but I wasn’t sure what “orthodox” was in a snowball fight. I just went with my gut. 

And my gut called for a seesaw effect.

I finished making the wall, ensuring it was curved enough on the inside to keep us safe from any projectiles from above. Couldn’t have them come up with a plan similar to mine, and have it work. 

I went back to making the giant balls of snow. I didn’t even know they could be called snowballs in a traditional sense, considering that all the snowballs I had seen so far were palm-sized, but… technically, these were balls made of snow, so I thought they applied. 

The plan was to have a platform balanced on some kind of center. There’d be one snowball sitting on the end furthest from Chrom and Sumia, and I’d drop the other snowball to launch the first one into their fort, inevitably hitting them both. I had back-up plans for if it didn’t work, of course, but I was sure it would. I knew Chrom’s style pretty well.

I’d already found a strong plank of wood that suited my needs, and had built the fort in front of a large stone I planned on using as the base.

I wouldn’t be able to test it. It’d be a one-time thing, and I desperately hoped it’d work. 

I looked over at Cordelia’s progress. Her snowball was already almost half my height, which I couldn’t help but feel impressed by. Just how many things was Cordelia going to prove to be proficient in?

“How much bigger, Robin?”

I peeked over at Chrom and Sumia’s fort again. The walls had become tall enough to cover them, even while standing on top of each other. I wondered how they could reach that high. 

I shook my head. That wasn’t important right now. Looking at the size of the fort, I thought a snowball a little bigger than I was in diameter would cover the entire thing. 

“Could you double it in size? I think that’d do it.”

I kept working on making my own snowball, and due to all the plans, counter-plans, and back-up plans being ironed out, thought about other things.

Was I truly okay with Plegia getting rid of the Grimleal before I had my answers? The answer to that was yes. The sooner that collection of malice was gone, the better. However… what if I was included in that? Would the Plegian Queen want me dead as well? I doubted it, since I was the one who caused Grima’s demise. Regardless of the politics of the situation, though, I hoped to find some sort of answers soon. It didn’t sit right with me, not knowing the cause of my return. Was it due to some countermeasure I had taken prior to my amnesia? Was it due to the existence of myself from the future, and their body being used as the sacrifice?

I paused. That made some semblance of sense. After all, that was the Grima from the future in my body. Perhaps it didn’t matter whose it was, as long as it was a Robin’s body being used as sacrifice. I’d ask Naga about that if I ever got the chance again.

I made a mental note to take a trip to Valm as soon as possible to meet with Tiki. Hopefully she could tell me if that was the case. 

“Time’s up!”

Chrom’s voice struck me back to reality. I looked over at Cordelia’s snowball, which was as tall in diameter as Walhart the Conqueror. Looking at my own… yes. This would work. 

“You guys ready?”

I looked at Cordelia, who nodded. 

“We are!”

“Then… go!”

Cordelia and I huddled together behind cover as what felt like ten projectiles hit our fort per second. They must be staggering their throws so we don’t have any time to counterattack.

Thanks to my plan, we didn’t need to leave ourselves defenseless in any way to attain victory.

I took out the Wind tome I kept on me at all times, and conjured a strong pool of wind underneath my snowball, carefully directing it to the edge of the platform farthest from us. 

“Robin, this is one of the craziest plans you’ve ever had.”

“You do remember the volcano, right?”

“I said one of the craziest, not the actual craziest.”

I then lifted Cordelia’s snowball, and positioned it directly above the opposite end of the plank. I peeked over the side of the fort to make sure I had the trajectory right, risking a snowball to the face.

Luckily, I managed to duck, and felt one fly over my head at a speed I was sure would injure me if it had connected.

I lifted the snowball Cordelia made higher, then let it go. 

The seesaw worked!

The snowball I had made went flying, and I peered over the edge as it arced through the sky.

“Oh, you have got to be KIDDING me!”

Chrom’s exclamation of disbelief was met with the WHAM of my snowball crashing into and destroying his fort. I could barely see his leg sticking out of the pile of snow it had created. 

I laughed. 

I was certain this was going to be a great story to tell.

Making sure no more snowballs were being thrown, I dashed out of cover and began running towards the ruins of the other fort. I couldn’t help but cackle with glee. It always made me happy to see a plan of mine come to fruition. 

I hoped I hadn’t injured them, though.

“Chrom, are you okay?”

I saw him rise from the pile, brushing off his clothes. 

“Other than the trauma of seeing a giant ball of doom falling towards me, and my acceptance of death being met with the soft yet intense feeling that a ball of snow bigger than I am brings, yeah. I think so.”

I looked at the pile, and realized that Sumia was probably still under there. 

“Should we dig out Sumia?”

“No, she’s fine.”

“What makes you so certain?”

For the third time today, I felt a ball of snow slam into my face. 

I wiped the slush off, again, and looked to see Sumia standing behind the wall of the cottage. I hadn’t seen her there. Of course I hadn’t seen her there. It was out of sight of my initial position, and I had gotten too caught up with my perceived victory that I failed to consider Sumia avoiding the giant ball of snow I had propelled at their fort.

“Ah. That’s what makes you so certain.”

Chrom laughed, and I couldn’t help but join him. 

“Chrom knew you’d come up with some bizarre scheme to win, and I will say that he was right. That’s why he asked me to stay here and throw a snowball at you when you came over to our side.”

“You’re starting to learn my patterns, Chrom. I’m impressed.”

“We’ve been fighting together for, what, three years now? Of course I’d be learning some of your tactics.”

“But, there is one more thing I’m impressed by.”

“How well our fort was constructed? Yes, I’m impressed by it too, though it obviously wasn’t strong enough to withstand your onslaught. Perhaps we can do this again sometime in the future and-”

I heard Sumia gasp, and looked over to see a pile of snow on her head. I gazed up at the roof of the cottage, to see Cordelia crouching there with a pile of ten snowballs at her side. 

“While I’m impressed with the fort, I’m more impressed with Cordelia’s performance.”

“Robin, you always have a counter-plan for everything. I’m never going to beat you at any sort of war game.”

“No, no, this was actually Cordelia’s idea.”

“Yep! All mine. I am sorry that I dropped a snowball on the Queen of Ylisse’s head, but it had to be done in order to save mine and Robin’s honor.”

I chuckled again. “Kind of a cheesy victory speech, but the cheesiness is part of why I love you so much.”

Her cheeks flushed, and I smiled. 

“Well, Robin, bragging rights are yours.” Chrom looked to the horizon, and I realized it was already sunset. How long had we spent out here? 

“We must be getting back now. I asked Frederick and Lissa to look after Lucina, but I don’t want to leave her in their care for too long… I shudder to think of how much she’s being spoiled right now.”

“Frederick is spoiling someone? I can hardly believe it.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it if you saw it. It’s like he turns into a completely different person around children.”

“I don’t need an explanation for Lissa, though.”

Chrom nodded. I could tell that he was struggling with finding good babysitters that were somewhere in the middle of spoiling Lucina rotten and treating her the same as a recruit in the army. I wished him luck in that endeavor.

As Chrom and Sumia began walking down the road, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see Cordelia shivering. 

“Robin, I’m just now realizing how cold it is. Let’s head inside.”

I shivered too. “Oh, gee, you’re right.”

Cordelia chuckled. “I’m glad that part of you hasn’t changed.”

“And what part would that be?”

“The part that ignores everything around him except for the plan. And me, I hope.”

We started heading back inside. I thought of the day’s events, and felt a smile spreading. It was fun to play war with Chrom, even if the tools we used were merely frozen water particles. It was refreshing, and it kept my mind off of other things.

Other things, like my connection to Grima.

I wanted to find out my origins. I wanted to find out my past. I wanted to discover who I was. If I was a completely different person than I was today… how much did I need to atone for? How many had I killed in Grima’s name? How many people did I-

I startled as I felt a pair of lips touch mine. 

“I can tell that you’re overthinking again.”

I sighed. “I wish I could help it. Once my mind gets going, I can’t stop it. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Talk to me, Robin. That’s what you can do. Let me help you, just like I let you help me.”

“Granted, you only let me because I wouldn’t stop bugging you.”

I felt her arms wrap around me, and felt a warmth like no other blossom from my chest. “And I’m glad you didn’t. I love you, Robin. Nothing will ever change that.”

“I’ll say the same thing for as long as I live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god I feel iffy on this one. I feel like it was too formulaic, and I'm just... not proud of it, for some reason. But, it's 5:30 AM, and I wanted to publish something, so... here it is. I hope you enjoy it, even with all of its faults. 
> 
> Hopefully I wasn't stereotypical with the direction I took the snowball fight itself, but I do genuinely think Robin would come up with something as convoluted as what I had him do. He's always seemed like someone who takes simple games and takes them a step beyond in order to win. Whether that's creating a semi-catapult in a snowball fight or otherwise, it makes sense to me! I'm a little unsure of the results of the snowball fight itself, since again, I feel like I was too formulaic and unoriginal there. I really hope I'm just being too self-deprecating here, but... I can't be sure. 
> 
> I will gladly take requests, though I might not go through with them. I won't write a request I don't think I'll be able to do justice. I also won't write any... weird requests. Nor will I write any Robin/someone other than Cordelia requests, because... that relationship is the reason I started writing, in all honesty. I don't really want to write Robin with other characters besides Cordelia. Call me a simp or whatever, but that's how it be. If I like your request, though, I'll obviously do it! Or, well, try, at least.
> 
> Oh, and if anyone who reads this far lives in Texas: please stay safe. I don't have a good grasp on what the situation is exactly down there, but I know that it's pretty bad. I hope everything goes okay for you all.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel a little self-conscious about this work's length, but that's mostly because my first work I uploaded was 10,000 words long. According to another user on this site that I talk to often, that's... out of the ordinary for a single chapter, apparently. It doesn't seem too long to me, but maybe that's just because I read fast. I dunno. 
> 
> Regardless, I really hope you enjoyed this first one shot! I'm still unsure if combining Robin's crisis and guilt with Grima foreshadowing was a good choice, but I had to extend the length somehow. A lot of the future one shots I plan on writing will be ones about Robin doubting their abilities and dealing with guilt and the trauma war brings, too, so expect more of that. I'd also like to examine the relationship between Robin and Grima further, since I feel it was lost potential in the game itself. I hope I can make it interesting to read. 
> 
> And, I do promise not every work of mine will involve a marriage proposal, joking or otherwise! Just felt that it would be the most Frederick-like thing to do, in order to surprise Robin in an effort to test him. I personally found it funny, though perhaps that was the sleep deprivation.
> 
> Outside of the heavy plot-related stuff I'm wanting to heavily dive into in the future, expect a soft work with Robin and Cordelia next, that *might* be a sequel to this? I dunno yet. All I know is that I want to write more about those two in order to make myself and others happy for the simple reason of seeing two characters in a relationship that they like. 
> 
> Also, if I got anything wrong in regards to canon, I sincerely apologize. It's been a while since I played the game, and I would replay it... were I not addicted to writing about it. Curse my mind for making me enjoy creating content with established fictional characters!
> 
> To bring this upload to an end, though, I hope you enjoyed this simple one shot I wrote over the course of, what, two days? I think? Maybe less? I dunno. Either way, I hope you continue to read the things I write! See you all next time!
> 
> (By the way, I hope people caught my decision to have certain magic enhanced under certain conditions. I love the idea of the Thunder line of tomes being enhanced during a thunderstorm, and I hope to incorporate more things like it in future works.)


End file.
